Removal of Manila statue condemned

Philippine women's rights groups have strongly condemned the removal of the comfort woman statue in Manila, calling it "a desecration of Filipino women's dignity".

The 2.1-meter bronze sculpture, depicting a blindfold, grieving woman in Maria Clara traditional Filipiniana gown and unveiled in December, represents women in the country forced to work as sex slaves in Japanese military brothels during World War II.

"This monument is reminder of the Filipino women who were victims of abuses during the occupation of the Japanese forces from 1942-45. It took a while before they came out into the open to tell their stories," reads the inscription on the monument.